RIM and carriers to EOL some models

Our sources tell us that RIM, in conjunction with some carriers in North America, is going to “End-of-Life (EOL)” several BlackBerry models to make way for new offerings. According to the whispers that we are hearing, the rationale behind this is for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is upgradability to OS 6. Several of the targeted models simply do not have enough RAM to handle an OS 6 release, or so we are told.

T-Mobile has stopped additional shipments of the Curve 8500 to retail stores as the company gets ready to launch a device from the Curve 9300 series which will arrive in the next few months. We hear that T-Mobile will as well be adding a new device from the Bold device family, but it isn’t clear yet which one that will be.

Verizon will be making several moves on their BlackBerry offerings, the first of which is to EOL both the Storm 2 and Curve 8530. The Curve 8530 should be officially EOL at Verizon starting on or about August 1st, while the Storm 2 will be EOL starting on or about August 15th. Of course, Verizon will continue to sell inventory that it has on hand.

The move by Verizon makes way for a new Curve from the 9300 family, which will replace the 8530. In addition, we hear rumors of a Storm 3 offering, but whispers as to what this might be are still uncertain at this point.

Sprint will also reportedly be making some changes to its BlackBerry offerings, but it is still unclear exactly what changes they have in store for their BlackBerry customers. As is usual with Sprint, they lag behind on getting their act together on the company’s BlackBerry offerings. Expect to hear more about their plan soon, but we hear that Sprint will likely add a 9300 series Curve offering at some point, as well.